Master Brew Class With Dylan Siemens | Onyx X Fellow

The Fellow Playground had the honor of hosting Dylan Siemens, the 2017 US Brewers Cup Champion, for our #OnyxXFellow Brew Master Class Weekend. Not only does Dylan bust out incredible cups of coffee, he couldn’t be a nicer human being. The Fellow team didn’t want our new Arkansas friends to leave. While the weekend was jam-packed with activities, by far the best part was watching Dylan in action teach brew classes. The level of his knowledge is mindblowing, and we were like kids in a coffee-infused candy listening to his tidbits and sipping on his brews.

BREWING BASICS

Since coffee is one giant chemistry experiment, it’s important to pay attention to all of the variables. Here are a few that really matter:

DYLAN’S DETAILS:

Grind Details: We’ll use the same grind size for every recipe. We want a medium coarseness – approximately the consistency of coarse sand. Your grinds should be fine enough so your brew water doesn’t just free fall through the bed, but coarse enough to create a steady drain through the bottom. To troubleshoot, go one step coarser than the middle grind size on your grinder. To adjust further, your pouring times will tell you how to adjust your grind. If your pours are happening really quickly back-to-back, you should make the grind finer. If you’re having to wait more than 30 seconds between each pour, make the grind coarser.

Pour Details: For all recipes, pour heavy enough so that you see bubbling (agitation) wherever your stream touches the coffee. Start in the center, and very slowly, make four concentric circles moving outward little by little over the course of 10 seconds. Pour one very concentrated circle, then two circles into the majority of the coffee, and finally a last circle around the very outside (almost on the filter). You’ll be pouring 60-75 grams every time you do this sequence of circles. Then, circle back toward the center following the same pattern. If the flow rate is steady, and the circles move slowly, you’ll be touching all of the coffee very intentionally, controlling the flow rate, which controls your brew time.

RECIPE #1 – SINGLE SERVING

Start off your morning just right with a single cup!
17g coffee to 275g of water
0:00 – 40g bloom
@ 45s – Pour to 200g (pour completed by 1:15)
@ 1:30 – Pour to 275g (pour completed by 2:00)
Drain by 2:45

RECIPE #2 – DOUBLE BATCH

Brew for two or just make an extra large cup for yourself!
22g coffee to 350g water
0:00 – 50g bloom
@0:45s – Pour to 200g (pour completed by 1:15)
@1:15 – Pour to 350g (pour completed by 2:00)
Drain by 3:00

Tasting Guide

Dylan brewed with Onyx Coffee Lab’s Sugar Skull Blend, but his recipes can translate to your favorite roasts. We use this Tasting Guide in the Fellow Playground as a fun exercise to see if you’re actually able to pull out the tasting notes listed on the bag (i.e. sweet lemon, Earl Grey, chocolate covered almonds). Print out two Tasting Guides (download here). First, brew a cup of your favorite coffee using your tried and true recipe and fill out the Tasting Guide. Then, brew a cup of your favorite coffee using Dylan’s recipe and fill out the Tasting Guide again. Compare the two and see if you’re getting different tasting notes!

About
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Meet Fellow

Greetings fellow coffee lovers! We’re a handful of nerds in love with coffee, and obsessed with product design. Meet the team: